Re: FW: Looking for good chatters

From: Kevin Rocap (krocap@csulb.edu)
Date: Wed Oct 01 2003 - 09:07:25 PDT

Dear Eugene and Mike,

I actually think Chat is a great addition to online communication/collaboration, even for adults.  I had suggested having a few small group chats during the XMCA Course, but, of course, we were ultimately able to implement certain things and had to put other things on the back-burner (or for "next time" ;-)).

I think a value of online Chat, even for adults, is that the synchronicity (a word with a relatively impersonal ring to it) actually creates a greater sense of "felt presence" of others.  So if the Chat goes deep on a topic or even stays at a social level, it adds to the fellow-feeling of participants which carries over into the asynchronous posting time as well, imho - so, I believe, it can enhance sociability as well as a sense of a shared endeavor in which participants are present for each other, both of which enhance participation and learning.  Just a thought.

In Peace,
K.

Eugene Matusov wrote:

Dear everybody–

 

Mike and I have an interesting discussion that Mike suggested moving to xmca. Please read from bottom up.

 

What do you think?

 

Eugene

 

––––––––––-

 

How about putting our little discussion onto xmca? I believe that your general law is almost certainly a valid one and we could start to work out the reasons why. It connects to so many issues floating around xmca like the enculturation/acculturation difference. I am facing a hard deadline on two books which makes my contributions minimal, but that does not mean we shouldn't have it! mike

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Eugene Matusov [mailto:ematusov@udel.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 9:38 AM
To: 'Mike Cole'
Cc: 'EDUC-258@UDel.Edu'; 'Steve Villanueva'; Lynda Tisa (74112@udel.edu)
Subject: RE: Looking for good chatters

 

I agree with you, Mike. We are trying to start up the closed Chat Room with ASU 5th Dim sites and ALSO with our UD students. I can see already that Chat Room is an excellent practice for promoting literacy in kids. It is so meaningful for the kids!

 

Vygotsky like to talk about General Law. We can formulate one now:

 

The more activity meaningful for the kids and the more kids have ownership for the activity, the more this activity looks dangerous for adults and the more this activity will be banned by the adults.

 

I think this “General Law” is deeply true in our culture because adults try either to exploit these meaningful kids-centered activities or they see it as a powerful competitor for their own agendas that they want to impose on kids. Thus the Law is deeply based on age segregation and lack of collaboration between adults and kids.

 

What do you think?

 

Eugene

 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Mike Cole [mailto:mcole@weber.ucsd.edu]

> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 2:28 PM

> To: ematusov@UDel.Edu

> Subject: RE: Looking for good chatters

>

> It is VERY important to describe the barriers to chats among the kids,

> Eugene. There is a dangerous, destructive, dybik loose in the United

> States. It urges on parents the need for children to be computer literate

> and internet savvy, but it prevents children, even when great lengths

> are taken for their safety, to engage in development-enhancing activities

> like digital story telling, joint website construction, and chatting.

>

> In some of our settings the kids are forbidden to take pictures of each

> other to put on the web! Even without name or location.

>

> We need to document this madness and fine some very public forum to point

> out what is going on.

>

> Sorry you cannot get time off. Get a great job offer somewhere else -- that

> usually makes local administrators more reasonable.

> mike

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